Spectroscopic characterization for remediation of copper, cadmium and mercury using modified palm shell powder

The maximum sorption capacity by MPSP was found to be 153.9, 45.3 and 60.2 mg/g for Cd2+, Cu2+ and Hg2+, respectively. EDTA was used for quantitative recovery of copper after sorption while HCl was used for Cd2+ and Hg2+. Multiple binding mechanisms involved in the sorption process, includes reduction, ion-exchange, complexation, coordination and micro-precipitation to different extents. However, spectroscopic studies revealed that ion exchange is the predominant mechanism during sorption of Cu2+ and Cd2+ while sorption of Hg2+ is accompanied by reduction mechanism.